What is your favorite movie so far? If just one of many is tough to pick, you can pick any movie or TV show, or even two, just as longs as you can give me an idea of what specifically made or makes that your favorite movie or TV Show. Mine is “Dawson’s Creek” TV show, first aired in 1999, with Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, James Van Der Beek. It’s the only TV show I watched more than twice. I actually watched it 6 times. I love it because those teenagers are so smart, are friends, support each other through growing pains, they love, have fun, create, cry on each other’s shoulders, and celebrate good times together. They all have proven to be incredibly talented actors from a young age, and they are all still acting, aging like fine wine.

Q: What is better to do first thing in the morning when we wake up? A: Whatever you want or need to, it is up to you, but specialists in health and wellness remind us that picking up the cell phone IS NOT a helpful habit. They recommend at least 30 minutes of phone-free time when we wake up. For some it may be deep breathing, meditation, affirmations, or prayer. For some it may be their usual morning routine, to include taking a shower, brushing teeth, or otherwise getting ready for the day ahead. If 30 minutes feels difficult to achieve at first, we can start with 15 minutes, or even just 5 minutes of no phone, no screen after waking up - - and build up from there. If our cell phone is our alarm clock and the only way to tell the time, it is very helpful to get a radio clock or a wall mounted analog clock, or any old-school time measuring device that can sit on our nightstand. The same principle applies to the 30 minutes before going to sleep. Turning the cellphone off, or placing it outside the bedroom, or placing it in airplane mode half an hour before going to sleep is paramount for brain health, for our mental wellbeing, and for our overall health. Please share your thoughts, if you wish to: What is your experience with morning and night routines related to cell phones/screens use, or lack thereof? What are the healthier habits you want to implement around these principles, if any?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could both maintain helpful daily habits we already mastered AND keep adding new ones? To some extent it is possible, but with time being our most precious non-renewable resource, there are only so many habits we can maintain and add over a period of time. Like Freddie Mercury and Queen, I also “Want it all and I want it now”. I also know I just can’t have it all, and especially not all now. What does that mean to me? It means I want to prioritize my goals based on my values and identity. Out of the many goals I want to work on, I would better pick just one or two, the ones that have the highest importance for me. Time, energy and money are too limited to accomplish 8 goals out of 10, for example, but I can focus on just two and let go of the rest - - for good, or for some time. It also means that, just like in a garden, pulling the weeds out from the root daily or very often makes for an easier work than pulling them just once in a while. Old helpful habits need maintenance the same way garden weeds need to be pulled out often, even daily. Trying to add too many new goals and to practice too many new habits in a short time is unrealistic, and we can end up paying dearly with our physical or mental health even if we happen to reach them. Lastly, it means giving myself grace and being patient: I am enough just the way I am. I always have been enough, wether I felt like it or not. I will always be enough, wether I will feel like it or not.

I cherish AI, I don fear it. I use it, it helps me, and I’m not afraid it will take my job. However, being trained the old-school way, where you aim to come up with your own ideas, thoughts, formulations, or essays, I am still in the habit of carving my own thoughts and content, using my own words and writing in my own style. Fear or plagiarism, desire for originality, and taking pride in building something on my own are just a few of the reasons I feed AI my own thoughts before asking it to refine them. One other reason AI use is a concern for me has to do with isolation from family members, friends, work colleagues, or partners. It is much easier to ask AI something we want to know, then to ask any of the people around us. AI is available anytime, at our fingertips, and behaves more predictable and nicer than some people might. Many of the questions I used to ask my husband, my mom, my work colleagues, or my older sister, I am now asking AI instead. In the old times, you would be an apprentice, a mentee, or a disciple to a master, and learn everything from them. Girls used to learn how to clean, organize, bake and cook from their moms or grandmas. Boys would learn how to fix things around the house, ride horses, carve wood, or fix cars from their dads, uncles, grandpas. Now they ask AI, YouTube, or Google. The mentoring process that included a personal touch, lots of human interaction and customized guidance has helped a lot of young people heal from past traumatic experiences and built trust and character. Using AI has many advantages, but it has its “opportunity costs”, too. I think the most painful one for the older generation can be how they might feel left out and forgotten. After accumulating a wealth of knowledge, skills, experience, and wisdom over time, they hoped to pass those down to the younger generations. However, very few young people might still cherish human wisdom and reach out to others, when it is much easier for them to ask AI what they want to know.